Bail Out
by Crimson Coin
Summary: A one-shot of Sawyer and Juliet's first kiss. Dharma time!


**Title: **Bail Out

**Author:** Crimson Coin

**Rating: **T

**Pairing: **Sawyer/Juliet

**Summary: **A one-shot of Juliet/Sawyer first kiss. Dharma time!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own LOST or the characters, the actors, ABC or anything like that. This fan fiction is written for my own enjoyment and I receive no profit.

**Note:** This story was written by request from a reviewer "Wow" from my other LOST story 'Reload'.

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1975

Sawyer stomped across the grass from his house to the security room. The sun was blazing hot and on the rare occasion he felt a breeze, the air offered no reprieve from the heat. He hated the shifts in the security room, much preferring to venture out into the jungle – fence patrols or even the odd trips to the various Dharma stations.

Not today

Today he was perfectly happy to see Miles, Jin and any other security guard out at the fence while he was able to sit back and relax in the cooler (yet sometimes boring) security office. His only regret was that Phil wasn't out on a patrol. The man had the lucky advantage of the shift before him and therefore able to settle comfortably and relaxed in the security hold.

Phil was a man with a death wish. Over the last couple of months, Sawyer caught the man sending not too polite glances in Juliet's direction. In fact the glances were more desired, lustful. Horn dog. Sawyer smirked at the new nickname for Phil. He'd have to remember that one. The man looked like he needed a leg to hump.

Sawyer felt responsible for Juliet, keeping the assholes like Phil away from her. The last few months, he was surprised how relatively easy they slipped into a companionable friendship. He wasn't sure when it happened, simply as the months passed, they spent more time together and eventually shared bits and pieces of their pasts, their thoughts and on the rare occasion, fears.

He knew he didn't have to physically tell her anything. The super secret 'Other's' files had a detailed account of his life, likely with crap he didn't even remember. And she knew it all. That damn photographic memory, she just absorbed it all like a sponge. He asked her one time why she knew so much about him.

She avoided the question, deftly dodging but he was persistent and eventually she relented in a huff and a flurry of hand motions before her eyes had settled on him. With that cool and calm demeanor he knew so well, she told him her reasons, her voice devoid of emotion. He knew better than to assume there was no emotion, but knew she hid it to ensure her own protection. A defensive reaction.

"_I targeted your profile. Yours, Sayid, Jack, Kate … the people I knew would be trouble. The people I knew that I had to have the upper hand. I chose you to make it easier to manipulate you. There, you happy now?"_

Her answer had shocked him and he wasn't sure what she expected his reaction to be. But he had grinned brightly at her and said, _"Gee, Blondie, and you called me the con-man. You pulled the ultimate con. Learned the weaknesses and strengths of yer marks, and completely exploited them."_

She stared at him a few moments after those words and he never expected the response she gave. She smirked at him and hugged him. He barely registered it but returned the embrace, rubbing her back. She pulled away quickly and composed herself. She offered a weak smile and walked back to her house. It took him a few weeks to understand that reaction and one night, he realized why she reacted the way she did. She was thanking him.

She admitted to manipulating, exploiting them and he didn't judge her. On the contrary, he complimented her.

He grinned at the memory as he took the stairs down into the bunker of the security station. The smile remained on his face when he quietly opened the door to the room with all the monitors for the cameras. Maybe if he scared the crap outta Phil, his day would be off to a magnificent start.

Phil sat in the chair, staring intensely at one of the monitors. One hand in his lap, the other using the controls to zoom in with a camera.

Sawyer squinted, stepping quietly into the room. The monitor Phil stared at came into view. Phil zoomed in again, moving the camera. Phil muttered. "That's it. Just a little … lower. Ah." And he smiled.

Sawyer frowned and looked more closely. On the monitor, Juliet wiped the sweat from her brow and unbuttoned the top three buttons of her jump suit before leaning over the engine of a van, offering the camera a delightful view.

Anger pulsed through his veins. "Hey, Phil!" He called.

Phil shot up, eyes wide and the chair spun at the force. "LaFleur."

Sawyer didn't wait and recoiled, fist clenched and punched Phil across the jaw. Phil flew backwards against the monitors and the controls. Sawyer vaguely heard the security alarm sound; likely, Phil crashed into it with the force of the punch.

"This what you been doin, huh? Peepin'?" Sawyer picked Phil up by the collar, recoiled and punched again. He didn't see the panic on the monitors at the alarm, nor Horace and Radzinsky rushing down into the bunker.

Phil fought back, taking a swing at Sawyer and hitting the southerner square in the jaw. Sawyer's head shot back but he ducked down and charged Phil, slamming him into the wall.

Horace stopped at the door entrance and frowned. "Jim … Jim stop!"

Radzinsky barreled into the room and pulled Sawyer back, holding his arms. Sawyer lunged against the hold, snapping. "Yer lucky, Phil! You hear me?"

Horace reached over quickly to deactivate the security alarm then sighed and sat, rubbing a hand over his face to calm. Luckily, Horace calmed easily in such instances. He knelt by Phil and helped the man stand, eyeing him over. Likely Phil would have a few bruises and pretty hefty black eye.

Horace raised a silencing hand. "Would someone please like to tell me what exactly is going on down here?"

Phil pointed to Sawyer. "Ask him, he just came in here and started swinging punches."

"Oh nice. Why don't ya tell the boss about yer peep show there, Cornelius."

Horace looked at Phil, brow raised in question. Phil just wiped the blood from his chin.

Sawyer struggled again and jerked his arms away. "Get off," then glared over his shoulder at Radzinsky, who released Sawyer, but watched cautiously. Sawyer pointed to the monitor. "Check out number 15, H. See that van? Guess who he was starin' at so damn close, huh? I can guarantee ya, it wasn't Tom."

Horace turned to Phil then to Sawyer. He pointed to Phil. "Get him to the infirmary. Jim, come with me."

Sawyer glared at Phil as he followed Horace from the room. Horace called back. "Radzinsky, stay on the monitors."

Horace led Sawyer up out of the bunker. With the alarm off, people were peeking out of their houses, but reticent to emerge. Horace held up his hands. "False Alarm. False alarm, everything is alright. Everyone take an hour and calm down, then we'll meet in the rec center."

Sawyer followed Horace around to the back of the security station then down another set of stairs. He hesitated at the door leading to the jail cell. He frowned. "Hoss, what's this all about?"

"Protocol, Jim. I understand your motivations, though domestic …" and Horace opened the cell, watching Sawyer and ignored the scowl. Horace continued. "Please. It will just be for the hour while I talk to everyone and calm them down. You know people have been on edge lately with the fence short circuiting last month. Please. Just get inside for now."

Sawyer grumbled, ground his teeth and his eyes darkened as he walked into the cell and turned as it closed behind him. Horace smiled weakly. "I'll be back. And then we're going to have a nice long talk."

"Great … Don't I get a phone call?" Sawyer slipped his arms through the bars, resting his forearms on the cross bar as he leaned into a hip, watching as Horace left the room. "Sonuvabitch …" he shook his head and looked around the cell. He jerked on the bars; the door was locked. "Figures." He murmured and walked to the cot attached to the back wall. He sat and scowled, glaring at the door.

He lay back on the bed, feet crossed at the end and tucked an arm under his head. About an hour later, a familiar voice spoke from the door.

"At least it's not a polar bear cage."

He turned to look to the door and sat up. Juliet stood at the door, leaning against the frame with arms crossed. Her eyes held his, blue and intense and they flickered with amusement. His assumption confirmed when she smirked at him.

Sawyer shook his head. "Hah Hah, Blondie." And stood to walk to the door. "You here to get me out?"

"Sorry, left my check book at home." She teased and grinned at his obvious annoyance. She walked to the cell. "Imagine my surprise to hear the warning alarm going off then running back to the house and Amy was there already. And we stayed inside … protocol and all." She accentuated this with a lavish hand gesture and an expression that made it quite clear as to her true feelings on said protocol.

Sawyer smirked. "Ya need the big strong men to take care of the little ladies."

Juliet quirked a brow at him and then stood just out of arms reach from him, offering a slightly flirtatious smile. "You do have my back. Here comes the big surprise though. Horace comes knocking on our door, asking for me. Telling me he locked Jim up in the holding cell. Hmm. And so … here I am."

She stepped closer, whispering to him. "What are you doing, James? This whole thing … us being here. It's your idea remember. And you're going to throw it away. I didn't want to be here at first, but you're right. There is nothing out there for me. Not in 1975. And now, what if they send you off on that sub. Then what? We'll really be stuck in 1975 and have no chance of ever getting back. Ever."

He blinked and then smirked. "We?"

She shook her head. "That is the part you hold on to from everything I said."

"You got that right, Sunshine. You said 'we'."

"Yeah, well … I said I had your back."

He chuckled at her and reached out to touch her hand and his smile broadened when she didn't pull away. "I wasn't thinkin'. Phil just … man it felt good to hit him. Almost as good as hittin' Radzinsky would feel. Almost."

She chuckled. "What did he do to set you off today? Did he leave his half eaten sandwich on the control panels again? Or were his boots off when you walked into the room."

He scowled and shook his head. "I'da preferred that from ol' fungus feet. No, it wasn't that. He was …" and he trailed off, unsure if he should admit what set him off.

"Tell me."

"What? Yer 'Other's' files didn't go back in time to tell you we were here?"

She frowned at that and retreated from him slightly.

He cursed to himself. "Wait … I … I'm sorry. Look, it's just. It's not a big deal."

"I think it is if Phil is in the infirmary and they locked you in a holding cell. How can I have your back if you don't trust me?"

Sawyer sighed and raked a hand through his hair. "I walk onto my shift to see peep central. Phil was zoomin' the camera in at you while you were bent over a hippy van."

She frowned. "What? Really?"

"Yeah."

"And you beat him up for doing that."

"Yeah."

She smirked. "Well … at least they'll just assume you were being protective."

"So what if I was."

"Then that means that all of Dharma will think that we're together. After you clearly said to Horace that we weren't. And that my husband died on the ship. You know this right?"

He frowned. "What?"

"Why else would you fly off the handle like that? When most other men would have crept in beside him and egged him on. Now they'll think that we're together when my husband has been dead a total of what … four months?"

"Sonuvabitch …" he muttered and paced away to the cot then back to her again.

"So, Captain, your plan?"

Sawyer slipped his arms through the bars again. "We're going to be together. My plan is to make them think I was jealous and over protective and I overreacted."

"Were you?"

"Was I what?"

"Jealous?"

Sawyer bristled a little. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"James, you beat up a man because he was looking at me." She appraised him and then slowly smiled. "You were jealous."

He tensed and averted his eyes. "Yeah, so what. I mean Phil? Come on. I'd rather see ya with Miles. Not that I think ya should be with Miles."

"Miles can be quite charming," she goaded him and then smirked at his scowl. "When he's not annoying."

"Yeah so that's like what … when he's sleepin'?"

Juliet laughed and shook her head. "Give him a break, he's not that bad."

"Yeah well … still annoys the hell outta me."

She stepped closer, head tilted as she searched his eyes. "I've never had someone jealous before … well … not in that creepy stalker kind of way."

"Ben?"

She nodded. "You're not the same as Ben."

"Gee. Thanks, Blondie."

"I meant that in a good way. Ben's jealousy made me … uneasy."

"Understatement," he muttered.

"Yes, probably."

He perked slightly and brow furrowed. "You hear that?"

She frowned. "What?"

"Horace is coming back. Kiss me."

"But what will that do?"

"Kiss me, princess." Before she could object, he cupped the back of her head and pulled her close; he pressed right against the bars. He kissed her through the bars of his jail, slowly at first, once then again then more teasingly. She resisted him merely a moment before reaching up to cup his cheek through the bars and held him near. She hummed softly at the feel of his mouth, his tongue and his coaxing. His free hand splayed on her lower back, forcing her right against the cell.

Juliet sighed, her head tilting as she returned his kiss, matching the slow intensity. She heard Radzinsky's voice down the hall. "If he's just attacking Phil because he's pissed, he can't be trusted."

"Give him the benefit of the doubt," Horace calmly explained. "I'm sure he had his reasons. Jim isn't one to attack someone without reason."

Sawyer murmured against her lips. "Don't stop," then tilted his head to try and better deepen the kiss. His eyes closed, knowing that Radzinsky and Horace stood at the door and his fingers slid through Juliet's hair. She tasted so good, felt good and his stomach clenched at the kiss as desire coursed through his body. He tried to tell himself this was part of the con, but by damned it didn't feel part of the con. He dreamt of kissing her for the last month. And he wasn't disappointed.

The door quietly closed and Horace chuckled. "See? Told you. Reason."

Sawyer slowed the kiss and grinned, eyes still closed as her lips hovered near his. Juliet took a moment to compose herself then swallowed hard. Her voice, when she spoke, was calm and confident. "Not exactly how I imagined a first kiss."

"Just think," he teased. "If ya did this to me when I was in the damn polar bear cage, I might notta run and the whole taser incident never woulda happened."

She chuckled and stepped back, cheeks flushed and lips slightly swollen from the kiss. Sawyer grinned. She never looked more beautiful. He didn't know when he started having feelings for Juliet, feelings that she was more than just a friend. And frankly, he didn't care. She was his best friend and the only damn thing he had on this island. He wasn't going to lose it to Phil, fate, or Jack-o.

He licked his lips and the door opened, Horace smiled and brought the key to the cell. "I checked the recordings of the cameras and it looks like you were right, Jim." He held up a hand at Sawyer's victorious body language. "But … it doesn't mean we condone violence in this manner against a fellow resident of the Dharma Initiative."

Sawyer nodded and waited at the cell door. "I got you, H. I just … lost control. Won't happen again."

"No, it won't. In order to make sure you are Dharma caliber, we want you to speak to the councilor on the island about your anger issues."

Sawyer rolled his eyes. "You got … to be kidding me."

"I'm very serious." He opened the cell door.

Juliet smirked and then quickly let the serious mask fall into place. "I'll make sure he attends, Horace. Thank you for giving us a second chance. James is just … protective. That's all. It's a nice change. I find it … endearing. Sometimes." Then smirked teasingly at Sawyer.

Horace nodded and smiled. "Good. Your appointment is tomorrow morning, 8 am. I'll be receiving the full report after ten sessions to make sure that you're progressing. Look, Jim. I like you. Amy likes you. And we want you to stay here. This is all just protocol."

"Protocol," Sawyer murmured. "Yeah … yeah, alright, H. 8 am. Bright an' early." He forced a smile.

Horace smiled brightly. "Wonderful. Why don't you head home for an hour, Jim, and wash up. Take care of that lip and then come back to the security station for the rest of your shift."

Sawyer nodded then reached up to touch his lip. "Didn't think Phil even got a shot in."

"I'll take care of him, Horace." Juliet interrupted before any other comments could be made. She offered a soft smile to the other men. "We won't be any more trouble. I promise. I'll keep him in line." She glanced to Sawyer and quirked a brow expectantly. "Right, James?"

He grinned at her, winking. "That's right, Sugar."

Horace chuckled and nodded to Juliet then touched her arm, comfortingly. "Good luck."

Juliet smiled in thanks and when Horace and Radzinsky left, she crossed her arms over her chest. "So this is your idea of a first date?"

He chuckled. "Yeah, well I'm a memorable guy. Need a memorable occasion." His head tilted, arms stretched to the side just slightly and he grinned.

"This was memorable alright." She turned to walk from the room.

"And you know what?" He easily fell into step beside her.

"Hmmm?"

"Ten minutes."

She glanced curiously at him. "Ten minutes."

"Yep. New record." And he grinned at the confusion on her face. "Between when the date began and the kiss. Ten minutes. New record, Blondie. Damn you move fast, woman."

She quirked a brow, features set.

"Don't you go givin' me that 'Other's' stare. I thought we were passed all that."

"You'll never be passed that, James." And she grinned at him.

He smirked, following her from the bunker and to her house. That stare was dead sexy. So to have her shoot that 'look' at him on occasion? No, he hoped they never got passed that.

-End-

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**Author's Note: **Here's a nice little one shot of a possible first kiss scenerio. Hope you all like it. Please review if you did. I love to hear from the readers about what you liked, and disliked.


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